a message from your president - oregon seedlegislative update wi t h t h e e l e c t i o n r i g h t...

3/30/2017 OSA News & UpdatesNov. 2016

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Oregon Seed Association Newsletter November 1, 2016 Edition 5

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A Message from your PresidentIt is hard to believe we are already in November. The Board has been working on a number

of items and attending meetings to further our industry. The Executive Committee met

with the Oregon Seed Council, Oregon Seed Certification and OSU Seed Lab. For years, the

Board has been conducting these meetings in an effort to engage with and develop open

lines of communication with others in the industry.

The data subcommittee received its first

draft of the compiled data and is reviewing

it prior to sending to members, which will

occur in the next couple of weeks. The goal

is to develop the ability to update the data

as new information becomes available and

project scenarios that could affect the

market.

Don’t forget that we also have the

educational seminar on November 16. I

am looking forward to the time

management seminar presented by OSU and the update on Canadian seed regulations.

~Scott Harer, OSA President

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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Committee Activities Read the latest from your committee chairs Highlights and Key Issues The Board has been following many issues, including USDA violations and IP rights Legislative Update With the election right around the corner, what can you expect? What's NewAnnual sponsor packages are now available! Upcoming Events Get information on event agendas, and make lodging reservations for the summer

convention.

Committee ActivitiesScience & Technology

Chair: Rick Myers, DLF Pickseed USA

The committee has been following the efforts of the OSU Seed Lab to establish a more

accurate reporting method of annual ryegrass in a perennial ryegrass sample. Current

research has shown that most fluorescing seedlings are not annual, but rather hybrid, for

which there is no current reporting method. The goal is to have the new a rule in place by

July 2017. Several members of the Board and OSU’s seed certification staff visited The

Scotts Company for a tour of their research facility where they are using growout testing to

determine annual versus perennial.

Scotts Company growout research







The committee is also following OSU’s research on multiple florets and a proposed rule

change to include double and triple floret types as pure seed units without breaking them

apart.

International Committee

Chair: Phill Lindgren, Grassland Oregon

Effective November 1, Canadian test reporting rules will change. All OSA members can

attend the winter workshop on November 16 to get an overview of how that will affect your

current practices.

The committee has been following all efforts to limit export of seed by other countries,

including the recent ban by China of all imports from the U.S. unless the container was

fumigated for mosquitos. This was in response to the Zika virus listed as a known infection

in the U.S. OSA President Scott Harer was interviewed by KGW on the Chinese import

ban. After a short time, the Chinese government amended this rule to only containers

originating in Florida.

In late September, OSA was notified that ODA/USDA/APHIS required soil tested for any

seed lots shipped to the EU if applying for a phytosanitary certificate. After our inquiry to

ODA, they retracted that requirement informing us that it was a misinterpretation of the

rules.

The committee is also following transportation issues, such as the announcement that

Hanjin filed for bankruptcy. This caused a few delays in getting equipment, and changed

what vessels companies are using affecting rates and quality of service. And in some cases,

cargo was stuck on ships and/or had to be shipped via air.

Finally, Phill Lindgren attended a meeting with the Port of Portland on October 25 where a

brief update was given on Terminal 6. The labor dispute is now in federal court. Once this

is resolved, the Port feels they will be able to attract new steamship lines to Portland. But

this could take anywhere from 18 months to 3 years, depending on how soon the court

cases are resolved.

Legislative Committee

Chair: Jake Stockfleth, Oregon Seed Cleaning

Legislative is closely following Measure 97, which will tax sales over $25 million for certain

types of corporations. The latest polling shows the measure will likely fail. However, our

insiders report that, regardless of the outcome of the election, Oregonians could see an

identical or similar measure passed by the legislature in the 2017 session to address a $1.35

billion budget shortfall.


http://www.kgw.com/news/local/china-forces-oregon-exporters-to-fumigate-for-zika/312103818






The committee is also tracking any legislation to be introduced that could affect its

members. This includes monitoring House and Senate hearings held during September and

December legislative committee days.

Production Survey Subcommittee

Chair: James Schneider, Barenbrug USA

The subcommittee is working to provide an industry data report that will compile

information from several sources. The goal is to give members the tools needed to forecast,

as well as to use in price negotiation meetings. The subcommittee also wants to remind

members of the importance of participating in OSA’s production surveys and reporting

data timely and accurately. The current Winter 2016 data is due by Friday,

November 4.

Scholarship Committee

Chair: Nancy Aerni, Turf Merchants

The committee has met to begin interview preparations for the OSA/OSU scholarship

awards, which will be presented at the MidWinter Meeting in January. The OSU Crop &

Soil Science scholarship committee nominates qualified applicants. Interviews will take

place November 15.

Once again this year, OSA attended the career and networking day hosted by the OSU

College of Ag. Sciences on October 26. Several members of the Scholarship and Emerging

Professionals committees attended the expo, designed to match students with intern

opportunities. This is OSA’s second year at this event, and interest in our internship

program was equally as strong as last year. A total of 21 students signed up to get more

information about internships and/or employment after they graduate. If you are

interested in hiring an intern or employee for your company, please contact

Angie Blacker or Jake Stockfleth for the list of the students and their areas of

interest.







OSU Ag Sciences career and networking day

We want to thank everyone for helping to make this a successful event for OSA again this

year—Nancy Aerni, Jake Stockfleth and Angie Blacker for participating in the student

networking event. And an even bigger thank you to the Emerging Professional members

who assisted and made the OSA presentation to the students—Dustin Withee, Connor

Lewis, Sean Jorgensen and Kirsten Pick.

Public Relations Committee

Chair: Greg Loberg, West Coast Beet Seed Co.

The PR committee has attracted several valuable new members and is already discussing

projects for next year. See OSA’s ad running in the current fall edition of the Oregon Seed

Magazine.

We want to share your company news! If you have somethingexciting happening at your company, please contact Angie

Blacker with a press release or news article and it will be postedto the OSA website.

Highlights & Key Issues Past Presidents Lunch

Current president Scott Harer recently

invited past presidents and the OSA

executive committee to a lunch meeting.

Past presidents are invited each year to

provide their perspective on the issues

Seed Lab Uniformity

We first touched on this subject several

years ago, and the discussion continues.

The Board is working with ASTA to

monitor lab testing uniformity issues from

state to state. As well, OSA learned that

the USDA lab is using IEF testing to verify







most important for the current Board.

Several takeaways from the meeting

included support for the organization’s

political activism, maintaining a good

working relationship with Seed Council,

being disciplined and proactive about

production data in preparation for price

negotiation meetings, and support for the

interim director at ODA.

Intellectual Property Rights

The Board is acting on attempts by others

to infringe on the use of members’

patented varieties and has asked ASTA for

assistance with these efforts. Specifically,

it came to our attention that several OSA

members’ fine fescue mixtures were listed

in a patent of grass seed blends used to

detract wildlife from airfield strips. We

will continue to keep you posted on this

issue.

Seed Regulatory Official

The Oregon Dept. of Agriculture recently

began its search for a Regulatory

Specialist for the seed industry. As you

may recall, OSA supported a dealer’s

license fee increase to fund a parttime

position to assist in upholding the

integrity of the seed industry from

production through sales focused on

education rather than issuing violations.

OSA has been invited to participate in the

interviews that will take place the week of

October 31.

the authenticity of KY31 shipments.

Isoelectric focusing, or IEF, compares

proteins that are normally stored in the

endosperm. IEF tests are comparable to

other forms of protein electrophoresis,

DNA analysis and growouts, but will

detect slightly more variability than

growouts.

In a recent case, however, USDA found

that a shipment of KY31 did not represent

the germination rate as stated on the label,

as well as determined by IEF testing not

true to type. USDA was subsequently

asked to submit evidence or explanation

supporting the alleged violations,

including detail on how the seed was

handled from sampling to germination

test, the protocol used for the

electrophoresis test, and the history of the

control seed. To date, nothing has been

provided by USDA. The Board of Directors

continues to monitor this issue, and an

invitation has been issued to USDA to

participate at a town hall on seed testing

practices at the Annual Convention in

June.

If you have received a fine you feel is

unwarranted, talk with a Board member

about those concerns as we are tracking

these issues.

Legislative Update Oregonians recently received their ballots in the mail, marking the beginning of the end for

a very odd and tumultuous election cycle. Oregon has voted for every Democratic







presidential candidate since 1988, a statistic unlikely to change any time soon, and no

member of the state’s congressional delegation faces a serious challenge. Although the

national attention has been focused on the presidential and congressional campaigns, there

remains a lot at stake for state and local interests this election cycle.

Democrats enjoy strong majorities in the legislature and control every statewide elected

office. Recent polling suggests this trend will continue. However, there are opportunities

for Republicans to pick up longlost ground in Oregon. Dennis Richardson, a former

Republican state representative and candidate for secretary of state, leads his Democratic

opponent by six points in a recent poll. Republicans launched an aggressive attack on Brad

Avakian, current labor commissioner and Democratic candidate for secretary of state, as

seen in this Forbes article shedding light on the comingling of state and campaign

resources to advance the candidate’s future.

While many of these campaigns are hotly contested, they pale in comparison to the divisive

campaign over a proposed corporate tax increase being advocated by the state’s public

employee unions. Measure 97, estimated to increase state general fund revenues by more

than $6 billion, comes at a time when the state is facing a $1.4 billion shortfall and has

already become the most expensive campaign in state history. Polling shows the public

employee unions narrowly behind the broad business coalition opposing the measure.

Notwithstanding a major digression in voter turnout, the measure will likely lack the

support it needs to pass.

In the state legislature, the balance of power is expected to remain in Democratic control.

But the issue impacting virtually every candidate seeking elected office this election cycle is

Measure 97. Republicans have united against the measure and several moderateminded

Democrats have refused to support the measure, including two firsttime candidates who

have publicly denounced the measure.

Regardless of the outcome of the measure, tax reform will be the driving issue of our next

legislative session. Lawmakers will be required to address the fundamental flaws in the

measure if it is passed by the voters. However, if the measure fails, lawmakers will begin a

very fragile negotiation of tax increases and spending cuts to balance the budget,

complicating virtually every policy issue. In preparation for session, lawmakers are already

discussing potential revenue solutions, none of which are ideal, including a possible tax on

Medicaid providers or a broadbased, lowrate gross receipts tax.

The above was excerpted from Pac/West’s legislative update email dated October 25.


http://www.forbes.com/sites/adamandrzejewski/2016/10/24/brad-avakians-political-hacking-of-the-oregon-bureau-of-labor-and-industry/#389fa5f21935






What’s New! Annual Sponsor PackagesWe have listened to your ideas and are pleased to announce the creation of a new,annual sponsorship package. Doug Pickles, Associates Committee Chair, andExecutive Director Angie Blacker have been working to incorporate the elementsfrom the MidWinter Meeting and Annual Convention sponsorship packages, as wellas member directory ads and workshop sponsorship. This will help members toprepare their annual budgets and continue support of OSA. The annual package willrun for each calendar year, and registration by the MidWinter Meeting date isencouraged to take full advantage of the sponsor benefits. Individual event sponsorships (i.e., for the MidWinter Meeting only) are alsoavailable, and registration for those packages is due prior to that event. We look forward to your feedback on ways we can continue to improve your OSAexperience.

Board of Directors 20162017

PresidentScott Harer

Columbia Seeds

Vice PresidentJeff Martin

The Scotts Co.

SecretaryTreasurerJake Stockfleth

Oregon Seed Cleaning

Executive DirectorAngie Blacker

Pac/West Communications

Immed. Past PresidentGreg Loberg

West Coast Beet Seed Co.







Directors Rick Myers Paul Hedgpeth DLF Pickseed USA Columbia River Seed Phill Lindgren James Schneider Grassland Oregon Barenbrug USA Mandi Mack Doug Pickles Vista Seed Partners Lewis Seed Co.

Upcoming Events November 16, 2016 Winter Workshop LaSells Stewart Center, Corvallis, Ore. Registration is open until November 9, and sponsor packages are available. Breakfastand lunch is included. Workshop presentations include:

Success Habits: Time Management & Productivity Seminar: Over thepast few decades major advances have been made in understanding the brainand how it prefers to work. We will translate the science of productivity intousable practices for the office and home. You will leave the workshop withstrategies for achieving more of your goals and doing so with greater lifebalance.Canadian Seed Import Regulations: An interactive webinar coveringupdates to Canada’s noxious weed seed law; a refresher on reading gradetables for perennial ryegrass, tall fescue, and seed mixes; how to label coatedseed; and differences in testing standards between AOSA and Canada.Canadian Seed Import Documentation: Learn about the properpaperwork needed to ship product to Canada.


http://oregonstate.edu/lasells/

https://gallery.mailchimp.com/001a1dccc0959127a03fda573/files/OSA_Workshop_Sponsor_Registration_Form.pdf

https://gallery.mailchimp.com/001a1dccc0959127a03fda573/files/OSA_Workshop_Sponsor_Registration_Form.pdf






Thank you to these workshop sponsors:

December 1213, 2016 Oregon Seed Growers League Annual Meeting Salem Convention Center, Salem, Ore. OSA has supported OSGL with a sponsorship and exhibit booth at their annualmeeting for the past several years. Stop by the booth and say hello on December 1213. January 10, 2017 MidWinter Meeting Salem Convention Center, Salem, Ore. Registration will open November 15. Join us for the latest news, committee issuesand industry updates at this daylong event. Sponsorships and exhibit booths areavailable. Meals are included with paid registration. The day concludes with areception to honor OSA past presidents. June 2324, 2017 Annual Convention Riverhouse on the Deschutes, Bend, Ore. Registration will open in April 2017. Lodging reservations by May 29, 2017, at 18005473928

We are planning an exciting convention, which will begin Thursday evening, June 22,with an offsite, casual reception at a local brewery. Friday will begin with a town hallon seed testing practices and labeling procedures, and a focus on lab uniformityconcerns across the U.S., with guests from USDA and state and private seed labs.After committee and general meetings conclude Friday, join us for an outdoor


http://salemconventioncenter.org/

http://salemconventioncenter.org/

http://www.riverhouse.com/index






reception to honor OSA’s past presidents. Show your team spirit by wearing yourfavorite sports team’s colors or gear at this Tailgatethemed event, where you cancompete against others in several lawn games. After a few more meetings on Saturday, attendees can go have fun with such activitiesas the annual golf tournament, arcade games and puttputt golf, or one of Bend’soutdoor excursions. The convention will close with a country hoedown, “Boots, Chaps& Cowboy Hats.” Come dressed in your best western gear and your biggest beltbuckle, and learn how to line dance. Make your lodging reservations at 18005473928 by May 29, 2017, to takeadvantage of OSA block rates starting at $189/night. Block rates are good fromThursday, June 22Saturday, June 24 (departing Sunday).

Our contact information is: Oregon Seed Association

PO Box 4277 Wilsonville, OR 97070

503.685.7555 [email protected]

www.oregonseed.org

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